Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Ain’t No Stopping Me Now

I’ve
said it before but these Mirrix Loom bracelets really do weave themselves.
After years of painstaking pattern-following, row-by-row stitch count knitting,
what a pleasure it is to obtain such instant gratification. In less time than it
takes to watch an episode of Law & Order, another bracelet is woven and finished off. The
only problem, if you could call it that, is what to do with all the resulting
bracelets. (Another random note: I once started making handmade herbal soap as a
hobby. Well, it was so much fun that I wound up with far more soap than I could
ever use. The upshot: a fairly successful cottage industry with customers that included
Bed, Bath & Beyond and HomeGoods. It nearly killed me though. Not again,
please.)

Using the shedding device, admittedly, takes a little getting used to. At first I couldn’t figure out how to keep the shed open. Only after several rewinds of the video did I catch on to the fact that the black part of the handle must actually wind around the bar, hugging it, to keep the shed open. Duh. Also, I’m still not entirely happy with how my bead rows are sitting- not quite even and a little wobbly for sure. I must be doing something wrong or else I prefer the other method of sewing the row in as it seems more secure. Oh well, good to know that I’m not exactly an expert at this yet ;)

The finishing...well, let’s see…the glue is a little messy. Be sparing. I would definitely use clothes pins or clamps to temporarily hold the three layers of tapestry, brass cuff and ultrasuede together while the glue dries. And while I enjoy the Zen-like process of sewing the three bead picot edge around the perimeter of the piece, I would definitely set aside some quiet time for this, and don’t plan it for too late an hour. It’s a little tedious for sure but the results, you must admit, are spectacular.

Freshly cut off the loom

Backside before being trimmed & glued

Backside after being trimmed & glued

Clamped while glue dries

After beading

The finished bracelet

Lookin' good!

I
think they’ll fit perfectly in several Christmas stockings, don’t you? Who will be the recipients of your Mirrix weavings this year?